This invention relates to a part gripping unit for mounting at the end of a part manipulator such as a robot arm.
An actuator or gripping unit is typically mounted on the end of a manipulator, such as a robot arm, in order to provide the final degrees of freedom for motion of the part or payload being suspended. To achieve flexibility of part mounting in different applications, such gripping units typically have large bearings and offset mountings, and are therefore heavy and expensive.